GoIllini_IHB
New member
[quote author="graphrix" date=1239899758]^^^ My gawd... I would feel safer lighting a match in meth lab after reading that chemical list. In fact, doesn't half of that list go into meth? Any of you 909er's want to step in to confirm this? On a serious note, what very, and I mean very little I know of chemicals, some of those are serious business. Some of which I believe have been banned before many of us have been born. Or... I might be getting my ENE's and ANE's confused.
Noted: Stick with N. Tustin (hill), and Newport areas with hills to buy a house in. Irvine is too scary.</blockquote>
Let me help you out with the list. First of all, several chemicals are listed multiple times. For example, TCE (79-01-6) is known by several different names and abbreviations, but its the same chemical that was a commonly used degreasing solvent. If the same Chemical Abstract Number is used, then it's the same chemical.
A lot of the other chemicals with CHLORO in their name are also solvents, or break-down components of solvents that are degrading with age. So degreasing solvents were spilled and leaked at the source of the contamination. Why were these chemicals selected? They were a LOT safer to use than alternatives because they are not as flammable. Obviously, this was before the potential cancer risk was known. Chlorinated solvents break down very slowly in the environment.
Second, many of the listed chemicals are components of gasoline. Benzene, Tolune, Ethylbenzene, and Xylenes are the most common constituents of older gasoline spills and underground tank leaks. Others on the list are also fuel constituents. So fuels were spilled also. Gasoline constituents break down more rapidly than chlorinated solvents, but will still take 50-100 years to disappear.
There are also refrigerants on the list. Trichlorofluoromethane is Freon, formerly used in refrigerators and air conditioners.
Finally, there are disinfection byproducts. Chlorine is a highly effective disinfectant used in most water supplies in the U.S. When it is added to water containing organic material (example, leaves falling into streams used as drinking water supplies), the organics break down and can form some potentially harmful chemicals that are collectively termed "halomethanes" which are now regulated in drinking water. Dibromochlormethane is a halomethane that can be found in drinking water after chlorination. Why disinfect drinking water with chlorine? Because it is a very good way to greatly reduce epidemics of typhoid, cholera, etc. In the mid 1800s, some 10 percent of deaths were caused by such diseases. Why don't we have a similar problem now in the U.S.? Chlorine disinfection. So a HUGE risk of death by one means (water-borne infectious diseases) creates a very much smaller risk of getting cancer. Many domestic water suppliers are moving away from chlorine disinfection because of this risk.
The common thread in the list is that these are all organic chemicals and virtually all of them are easily removed from water supplies by a simple carbon filter. Drinking water can be (and is) made safe by the water companies that supply our homes. If you don't trust them, then install a carbon filter in your home, and service it regularly.
Inhallation of the chemicals that might migrate through the soil to the breathing air is a potential concern. But my personal opinion is that this risk is tiny, compared to other risks we accept as part of our daily lives.
Noted: Stick with N. Tustin (hill), and Newport areas with hills to buy a house in. Irvine is too scary.</blockquote>
Let me help you out with the list. First of all, several chemicals are listed multiple times. For example, TCE (79-01-6) is known by several different names and abbreviations, but its the same chemical that was a commonly used degreasing solvent. If the same Chemical Abstract Number is used, then it's the same chemical.
A lot of the other chemicals with CHLORO in their name are also solvents, or break-down components of solvents that are degrading with age. So degreasing solvents were spilled and leaked at the source of the contamination. Why were these chemicals selected? They were a LOT safer to use than alternatives because they are not as flammable. Obviously, this was before the potential cancer risk was known. Chlorinated solvents break down very slowly in the environment.
Second, many of the listed chemicals are components of gasoline. Benzene, Tolune, Ethylbenzene, and Xylenes are the most common constituents of older gasoline spills and underground tank leaks. Others on the list are also fuel constituents. So fuels were spilled also. Gasoline constituents break down more rapidly than chlorinated solvents, but will still take 50-100 years to disappear.
There are also refrigerants on the list. Trichlorofluoromethane is Freon, formerly used in refrigerators and air conditioners.
Finally, there are disinfection byproducts. Chlorine is a highly effective disinfectant used in most water supplies in the U.S. When it is added to water containing organic material (example, leaves falling into streams used as drinking water supplies), the organics break down and can form some potentially harmful chemicals that are collectively termed "halomethanes" which are now regulated in drinking water. Dibromochlormethane is a halomethane that can be found in drinking water after chlorination. Why disinfect drinking water with chlorine? Because it is a very good way to greatly reduce epidemics of typhoid, cholera, etc. In the mid 1800s, some 10 percent of deaths were caused by such diseases. Why don't we have a similar problem now in the U.S.? Chlorine disinfection. So a HUGE risk of death by one means (water-borne infectious diseases) creates a very much smaller risk of getting cancer. Many domestic water suppliers are moving away from chlorine disinfection because of this risk.
The common thread in the list is that these are all organic chemicals and virtually all of them are easily removed from water supplies by a simple carbon filter. Drinking water can be (and is) made safe by the water companies that supply our homes. If you don't trust them, then install a carbon filter in your home, and service it regularly.
Inhallation of the chemicals that might migrate through the soil to the breathing air is a potential concern. But my personal opinion is that this risk is tiny, compared to other risks we accept as part of our daily lives.
